Plastic wading pools for summer use by children are in wide use. These pools are constructed either of plastic film supported upon a framework or rigid molded plastic which can be set up in the yard and filled with from twelve to twenty inches of water by a garden hose. The pools usually are circular or oval in overall shape and from five to more than twelve feet in diameter.
Despite the popularity of these plastic wading pools, they often fail to occupy the interest of children for any extended period of time. A major reason for this lack of extended interest is that the pool itself, after the child's initial pleasure in being cooled off by the water, offers no features that will hold the interest of most children. This leads to the children repeatedly getting in and out of the pool, playing with the hose, trying to let the water out of the pool, and engaging in other undesirable activities which require correction and increased adult supervision to prevent injury to the children and damage to the pool and the yard.
It is an object of my invention to provide a unique wading pool which will hold the interest of children over extended periods of time, thereby increasing their pleasure in the use of the pool and decreasing the likelihood of damage to the pool and its surroundings. It is a further object to provide a wading pool which requires less continuous adult supervision of children using the pool.
In plan view my pool is shaped like a Greek cross so as to provide four similar open-sided compartments, each compartment sized to accommodate one child. Each of these four compartments is constructed of a different colored plastic material preferably red, blue, green and yellow. Each compartment has affixed to one side of the compartment an open topped storage bin whose top lies several inches above the surface of the water in the pool. Each of the bins houses a toy water pistol that is permanently attached to the pool by a length of hose which permits the water pistol to be removed from the bin and freely maneuvered by a child located within the compartment.
In addition to the water pistol stored within the bin, each bin may contain one or more balls, boats and/or other floatable toys preferably of the same color as the compartment.
A wading pool constructed and equipped in accordance with my invention permits each child to have a personal space or "cave" which, due to its size and distinctive coloring, gives the child a sense of security and individuality in relation to other children in the pool. He or she is ready to participate in games in which his skills are pitted against those of the other children.
The child's feelings of security and identity are enhanced by the toy water pistol which is stored in the open topped storage bin on one side of the child's compartment. The pistol is permanently attached to the pool by a flexible plastic hose, the opposite end of which is open beneath the surface of the water in the pool to provide an endless supply of water to the pistol.
Thus the pistol can be removed from its storage bin by the child and used to "defend" his compartment or to play various games in competition with other children in their respective compartments in the pool. To this end, each storage bin may also house several floatable toys used in playing some of the games.
For example, each bin may contain a ball and a boat, each colored to match the color of one of the compartments. The balls are hollow and of such size that they can be moved about the surface of the water in the pool by the force of streams of water squirted from the water pistols. The four balls are placed in the middle of the pool. The object of the game is for a child to move his colored ball into the compartment of another child by using only streams of water from his pistol.
Another game uses four differently colored plastic boats, each having an open top which when filled with water will sink to the bottom of the pool. In this game all four boats are placed in the middle of the pool. The object of the game is for a child, by using only his water pistol, to fill the other children's boats with sufficient water to cause them to sink before his own boat is sunk.
The foregoing examples of games which can be played in my uniquely designed and equipped pool will keep children happy and busy in the pool for extended lengths of time without continuous adult supervision.